Deformed toes

[CayceV]

Okay... So I'm in a bit of a dilemma here. I have a young Cuckoo Marans roo that has deformed toes. He didn't show any signs of this when he was younger (he's now almost 4 months old) but as he's grown they've gotten increasingly worse. They are positioned in such a way that he is having difficulties walking. My friend thought he had a broken leg, but no, it's just his toes. Is there anything I can do to help him or would it be kinder to put him down? I'll try and remember to get pictures tomorrow...

 

[miss_thenorth]

Pictures would probably help,.

 

[ChickNLittle]

My theory is; if he gets around, eats, drinks etc., keep him. I have a baby silkie that has one leg she drags around. But that little thing has NO problem. She gets where she wants to go and NO ONE picks on her. Tehe! She's a cutie!

 

[mirjam]

Wow, I have a barred rock hen (three weeks old) that shows alike symptoms! She was fine when I first got her along with 9 other baby chicks. I first noticed that she was a little weekish in her legs at about 1 1/2 weeks of age. Her toes have since increasingly become crooked. She moves slower that all the others, but feeds and drinks normally and is alert. I use bandaids as a splint attempting to straighten the toes out, or at least (hopefully) preventing them from going permanently crooked. The rest of the chicks appear to develop normally. I assume that this might be a genetic disposition, but I'm a layperson here and any knowledgeable input would be greatly appreciated! I do worry about her. She is such a sweet little fella!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Usually genetic curly toes will show up right at hatch or a couple of days later...this sounds like it's a vitamin thing...I think Riboflavin...
I had a hen that had only one straight toe and she got around fine.

 

[CayceV]

Kay pictures... Sorry it took so long; had to borrow a camera

Please excuse the mess, we've had nothing but rain the last week so everything is gross looking.

He eats and drinks, but he does not go outside the coop with the other birds and he doesn't walk around if he can help it... I put him out to take these.

All of my other birds are healthy and happy... No one else is having problems, just him. He is one of the MM chicks that I got in February when I lost 15 out of 33 chicks. Probably doesn't make a difference, but thought I'd put that in there just in case?

 

[mirjam]

Those pics remind me very much of my little barred rock. If her splints were off her toes would look similar. She is a tough little girl and really enjoys being outside with all the others.

If this is caused by a nutritional deficiency, how can I remedy this? What would I need to amend their chick starter ration with?

 

[antiquebuff]

I have a Sultan almost like this only her toes are curling up and useless. I am going to try to keep her if she can continue to get around a little. I don't know if its genetic or what. It did not show in mine until around the third week. All others are fine. I tried vitamin treatments, splints and no success.
Maybe someone can offer a suggestion that will help all of us with chicks like this. Good Luck!

 

[SpottedCrow]

These are Slifer's feet.

Here's a thread on crooked toes:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=58624

 

[fourfeathers]

I have one who is 3 months old whose toes look very similar. It is not due to a vit deficiency though. It's as a result of balance problems that she has due to being one-legged. My pheasant also has this type of toe problem too, also as a result of balance issues due to an orthopedic deformity in her neck and spine. The leg on your bird actually looks a bit off up near the hock, which makes me wonder if possibly she has something else going on. Do her hips feel inline, how about her hock, any tendon problems? Also, despite the obvious gait problem with the toes, do you notice that she walks with her leg out of alignment....it looks like she might. I thought about trying to correct it in my one-legged chick but this is the way she compensates and I felt it would just stress her. I give mine a joint supplement to help with, hopefully, combatting subsequent joint problems that we will probably encounter. I would just watch her feet to make sure she doesn't acquire any sores from the position, apply bag balm on the foot (top and bottom) and toes to help keep skin tissue healthy and make sure diet is good. Also, make sure she has comfortable places to lay and she made need to be kept safer than the norm.